NHS England accelerates AI adoption with Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve service delivery, reduce costs and create more time for care

• NHS England to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot to 505,000 clinicians and support staff in largest implementation of its kind in the healthcare sector
  
  
• New agreement follows initial trial across 30,000 NHS workers, which found that using Copilot saved users 43 minutes on administration per day, enabling health workers to focus more time on care
  
  
• Agreement includes access to Copilot Studio, enabling NHS England to build and deploy AI agents to streamline existing processes with governance provided through Agent 365
  
  
• Deployment will be supported by extensive adoption and AI skilling program to ensure all NHS staff with access to Copilot can take full advantage of the benefits it delivers

LONDON, June 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NHS England on Sunday announced that it is significantly accelerating AI adoption across healthcare services by providing 505,000 clinicians and support staff with access to Microsoft 365 Copilot.

By providing access to the AI-powered assistant, NHS workers will be able to streamline administrative processes, improving capacity across NHS England Trusts, reducing costs and providing more time for patient care.

Copilot helps users create, analyze and get work done faster. NHS England anticipates that Copilot will be harnessed in multiple ways across all aspects of the healthcare service, including:

• Ward clerks: Helping with patient discharge processes, service data analysis, rota building and bed management
• Medical secretaries: Helping with meeting minutes and creating templates for consistency
• Core services: Assisting HR, finance and procurement functions
• Management: Helping draft board papers, briefings, organizational analysis

As part of the agreement, NHS organizations will also have access to Copilot Studio, enabling teams to build agents to automate and streamline workflows, reducing the time it takes to conduct research, analyze data, address HR-related enquiries or facilitate meetings.

NHS England will be able to build and deploy agents centrally, while individual trusts will be able to build custom agents to solve trust-specific challenges, such as reducing help desk burdens, accelerating complaints and freedom of information requests, or improving financial analysis and processing. Agent 365 will ensure that all built agents are fully secure and adhere to all organizational policies and rules.

The agreement follows the largest AI trial of its kind globally in healthcare, which provided more than 30,000 NHS workers across 90 NHS organizations with access to Microsoft 365 Copilot. It found that AI-powered administrative support could save on average 43 minutes per staff member per day, equating to five weeks of time per person annually. Results from the trial showed that a full rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot could save millions of hours every year.

Health Innovation and Safety Minister, Preet Kaur Gill, said: "Technology should support our NHS staff, not slow them down. Every day, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals spend valuable time on administrative tasks that take them away from patients. By rolling out Microsoft Copilot across the NHS, we can reduce that burden, free up clinicians' time and help staff focus on what they do best — caring for patients.

"This government is putting innovation to work for patients: helping staff work more efficiently, improving productivity and supporting a modern NHS that delivers better care, faster access to treatment and better value for taxpayers."

Rob Thompson, Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer at NHS England, said: "NHS England wants to embrace cutting-edge technology, and this Microsoft partnership will mean staff can be freed from admin so they can focus on what they want to be doing — treating patients. Innovations like this will help drive NHS productivity so patients can get the treatment they need sooner and there is better value for taxpayers.  

"The potential to save clinical staff nearly a day's worth of admin time every fortnight could be a gamechanger for patients. We're making sure every pound is spent on cutting waiting times and boosting care through the Plan for Change and 10 Year Health Plan." 

Darren Hardman, CEO, Microsoft UK & Ireland, commented: "By rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot at scale, NHS teams can cut through everyday admin and spend more time where it matters most. Bringing AI safely into the flow of healthcare will help ease pressures, improve productivity and support better decision-making across the health service. We're proud to work with NHS England to help tackle some of its biggest challenges and accelerate digital transformation for the benefit of staff and patients alike."

The deployment will be supported by a robust 12-month onboarding plan, with a rapid scale-up of 200,000 users within the first six months. An extensive training and adoption program will also ensure all NHS workers with access to Copilot and AI agents can take full advantage of the benefits they deliver.

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.